Prior art clothesline devices provide a retractable clothesline or a plurality of retractable clotheslines which may be extended to a desired position and locked in place for use. The majority of these prior art devices utilize some form of a spool or reel to store the clothesline when in a retracted position. In one prior art device, five clotheslines are provided which are all stored upon a single large reel when the clotheslines are in their retracted positions. The main problem with this device is that the winding of five clotheslines around a single reel does not assure uniform storage and the clotheslines often become twisted together making it difficult to extend and retract them. In order to alleviate the problem of uniform winding other devices have provided spools with more than one storage area or have used more than one spool to receive different portions of a single clothesline. For example, in one prior art device, a single clothesline provides two lines for hanging clothes and when retracted into its dispenser is stored on two separate spools. The problem with the use of two separate spools is that differences between the biasing rates of the two spools can make it difficult to find a desired position, and further requires that each spool be independently locked.
Common biasing means in prior art devices include the use of a wound wire or flat metal spring between a shaft and the spool. When wound wire springs are used around a shaft at the core of the spool, they are difficult to replace when broken and usually force the disposal of the entire unit. Accordingly, the use of wound flat metal springs is preferred, but they have the disadvantage of often becoming bound up preventing the clothesline from being extended and retracted in a smooth, uniform manner.
The major problems encountered with prior art devices are that the cord has a tendency to wind off of the spool as the cord is quickly retracted into the device and secondly a great amount of spring is required to provide sufficient force to actuate the retracting of the clothesline. This invention provides an improvement over the prior art by providing structure within the housing of the device for maintaining the cord on the spool. Secondly, the invention provides a biasing spring requiring substantially less spring material to actuate the retraction of the clothesline.